Deanna Rosolen

Topics

Niagara Falls, Ont. – The Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) held its 50th National Conference from May 27-29, 2012 with the theme Innovation Meets Commercialization.

The two-and-a-half-day event drew professionals from the food industry, government and academia from across Canada. The conference held a Poster Session, Student Challenge and several other networking events.

The technical and pre-conference sessions focused on how innovation meets commercialization by zeroing in on several questions such as:
• What new research and development is being conducted in North America and Canada specifically?
• What are some of the current challenges being faced?
• How does awareness of current market and consumer trends contribute?

The conference also offered an Expo, a showcase of product and service innovation. Here’s a brief look at some of the food safety-related products that were there.

Detect spoilage
• Neogen Corporation unveiled its Soleris Direct Yeast and Mold Test Vial. The company says its new DYM can detect spoilage organisms faster and more accurately than traditional methods and is sensitive enough to detect 1 CFU per vial.
The DYM can offer test results between 14 hours and 48 hours and offers simple sample preparation.
Pathogen detection
• Neogen also showcased its Neogen ANSR. The company says ANSR provides genetic level discrimination of specified targets and its unique enrichment and assay result in minimal matrix effects in both food matrices and environmental samples.
The technology can also eliminate many of the limitations of antibody-based technologies.
ANSR for Salmonella can provide rapid recovery and detection of Salmonella in environmental or food samples in 16 to 24 hours.
The system’s costs are minimal and it comes with user-friendly software.
www.neogen.com
NASA’s air sanitation
• KES Science & Technology Inc. showcased its AiroCide, a non-chemical food safety air sanitation technology that was developed by NASA.
The company says AiroCide is the only air purifier that completely mineralizes (turns organics into carbon dioxide and water vapour) airborne bacteria, mold, fungi, mycotoxins, viruses, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs such as ethylene) and odours.
The device also has no filters that need changing and produces no harmful byproducts, such as the ozone.
AiroCide is also totally green.